Gig Work and Environmental Hazards

Summary

Workers in location-based digital labour platforms (DLPs) are among the most exposed to environmental hazards and among the most climate-vulnerable groups, yet research on the impacts of climate change on them remains scant (Vu & Nguyen, 2024). In recent years, environmental and climate-related risks, including heat-related illnesses, air pollution and extreme weather events, have disproportionately affected delivery workers and ride-sourcing drivers (Baker & Macon, 2023; Kaye, 2023). This project seeks to examine how environmental hazards and climate change shapes the working conditions, health risks, and resistance strategies of DLP workers. In doing so, the project seeks to work with worker organizations and unions in advancing protections and collective responses.

Public Facing Scholarship

1) Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat, Dipsita Dhar, Kadambari K. B., Priyank Chandra. “Riding through the smog: A ‘roznamcha’ of ride-sourcing bike taxis .” Comic Strip, Runner-up in Knowledge Mobilization Project, School of Cities, University of Toronto. https://fair.work/en/fw/blog/riding-throughthe-smog-a-roznamcha-of-ride-sourcing-bike-taxis/

2) Organized a health camp for gig workers in New Delhi, addressing the health impacts of severe air pollution, in collaboration with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Delhi Science Forum, and STREET Lab, University of Toronto. November 28.

Academic Conferences

1) Delivering “Broken Promises” to Save the Planet: Climate Crisis, Breakdowns and Socio-Ecological Infrastructure in Platform Capitalism Hiu-Fung Chung , Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat, and Kaushar Mahetaji. International Network on Digital Labor-8 (INDL), Bologna, Italy on 10-12 September 2025.

Academic Workshop

1) Thuppilikkat, Ashique Ali, Hiu-Fung Chung, Kaushar Mahetaji, Anubha Singh, Nussara Tieanklin, Isabella Jaimes Rodriguez, Jen Liu, Noopur Raval, and Priyank Chandra. “(Re) working for Sustainable Futures: Climate Change and Platform Economies.” In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies, pp. 848-852. 2025. https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3715335.3737685